Jeremiah S. Chechik (born Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian film and television director and photographer. His feature work includes National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Benny & Joon (1993), Diabolique (1996) and The Avengers (1998). He is also notable for his work in television, directing episodes for such shows as The Bronx Is Burning (2007), Burn Notice (2007–2013), Chuck (2007–2012), and Reginald the Vampire (2022–2024).
Biography While at McGill University, Chechik studied the theatrical arts. After graduating, he became a fashion photographer for Vogue. Since he also had a background in both music and design, Chechik decided to pursue filmmaking.
He landed early gigs directing television commercials, which impressed Stanley Kubrick who mentioned them in a NY Times article. Subsequently, he was invited to develop a film for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment that took place in and around the Apollo Theater in New York City. It was planned as a "very small movie" starring unknown actors.
Though that film was never made, Chechik began receiving scripts while at Warner Bros., eventually landing on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation which would become his feature directorial debut.
The following year, Chechik began production on Arrive Alive which was shut down after eighteen days of shooting. The producers felt that star Willem Dafoe's performance was not funny enough and disrupted the comedic tone of the script. The footage has not been released in any form.
After directing several other films throughout the 1990s, Chechik was nominated for Worst Director at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards for The Avengers but lost to Gus Van Sant for his remake of Psycho.
After the failure of that film, Chechik took a break from directing and decided to travel. "I had an extreme kind of experiences all over the world, warzones and the like," he later reflected. Out of that, Chechik, who had never directed something he had written, began to write screenplays. While some of them were either commissioned or optioned by various studios, he decided that the development process had become too slow to pursue the projects.
Instead, Chechik began directing for television. In 2007, he helmed eight episodes of The Bronx is Burning. The following year, he and producer Michael Birnbaum purchased the screen rights to House of Night, a juvenile vampire book series from authors P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast.
He returned to the theatrical venue in 2013 with the film The Right Kind of Wrong, which was screened in the Gala Presentation section at that year's Toronto Film Festival.
In 2025, an exhibition of his artwork, titled Jeremiah Chechik: Explorer, was held at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center.
Filmography Directed works Film Year Title Distributor1989National Lampoon's Christmas VacationWarner Bros. Pictures1993Benny & JoonMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer1995Tall TaleBuena Vista Pictures Distribution1996DiaboliqueWarner Bros. Pictures1998The Avengers2013The Right Kind of WrongEntertainment One
Television Year Title Notes1997Gun"Father John" (E6)2004MeltdownTelevision film2005Tilt2 episodes2007The Bronx Is BurningMiniseries2007–2011Burn Notice8 episodes2008The Middleman4 episodes2009The Beast"The Walk In" (E9)2009–2012Chuck5 episodes2009Mental"Obsessively Yours" (E7)2009–2010Leverage2 episodes2010–2011Gossip Girl3 episodes2010The Good Guys2 episodes2011Being Human2 episodesThe Glades"Addicted to Love" (S2 E7)Warehouse 13"Queen for a Day" (S3 E4)Against the Wall"We Protect Our Own" (E13)2011–2013Hart of Dixie3 episodes2013–2014Reign2 episodes2014–2015Helix6 episodesMotive2 episodes2015Bitten"Scare Tactics" (S2 E2)2015–2017Rogue8 episodes2015South of Hell2 episodes2016Shadowhunters"Bad Blood" (S1 E8)Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders"The Ballad of Nick and Nat" (S1 E11)2017The Gifted"boXed in" (S1 E5)2022–2024Reginald the Vampire8 episodes
Unmade projects Year Title Distributor Ref1988Untitled filmWarner Bros. Pictures1991Arrive AliveParamount Pictures1992Honey, I Blew Up the KidBuena Vista Pictures Distribution1993Cool Runnings1994The Three MusketeersTriStar Pictures2008Pomona Queen2009House of Night2017Little Mizz Innocent
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